I make a lot of pasta, and the very best recipes use only egg yolks. It's a luxury to have acccess to all the eggs I need and more. I do lots of baking, and we love hardboiled eggs. Even so, in the summer I always have more than I need, and friends and neighbors love fresh eggs, so there's no...
I would love to have every egg color represented. I tried to get dark brown and white egg layers a few years ago but sadly, the chicks died within days of receiving them.
I ordered 15 chicks from Meyer's, hatched 2/11/13 and I was very worried, even though they were coming to me in California, not blizzard territory. The nights here have been cold. At the last minute, I considered adding to the order, but didn't. They arrived at my post office yesterday...
I got my 14 chicks in the mail yesterday and put them in a tub with my new EcoGlow brooder and they seem very happy! They seem more lively to me than chicks I have raised under heat lamps, and I love seeing them dart in and out from the "mama."
I bought a set of 10-inch wheels and added them to my new Snap Lock coop so that I can roll it around the yard. I'm going to build a run, closed in on 4 sides with wire, to keep the chickens safe from predators. Haven't figured out yet how to secure it to the coop.
The coop is on a base made...
I repainted my old brooder on Sunday with fast-drying spray paint. I've left it outside since to dry and air out, but now I'd like to put my new chicks in it. It still smells a little paint-y though. Will that harm the chicks?
It's double-walled, so I believe it will hold heat as well as or better than a wooden coop. I probably wouldn't keep more than 6 full-sized hens in it for long-term use, but it is actually quite roomy inside, with 3 roosts, each about 40" long. I'm guessing that 12 hens would actually be very...
I was able to assemble this easily by myself in an hour or less. It seems very sturdy. It is very thoughtfully designed, with removable litter trays and removable nest box trays for cleaning. The hardware is all excellent quality, and carabiners are provided for every latch.
The roof opens...
This is a double-walled plastic coop kit. It is shipped via FedEx, and easily assembled by one person in an hour or less. I'm planning to build a raised platform for it with wheels. It is very thoughtfully designed, with removable litter trays and nest box trays, three interior roosts, and...
You might be surprised at how many people do actually want to adopt your rooster. I ended up with THREE roosters in a batch of 15 sexed chicks a few years ago. I was willing to keep all of them, but one picked on the other two unmercifully, so I advertised for a home for the two. I screened out...
I have a flock that is eating the chicken food, which is bad enough. But I have had my first infestation of red mites in the nest boxes, which I blame on the starlings, and now I am finding broken and eaten eggs!
Am I correct in thinking the starlings might have brought the red mites? And how...
Some of mine disappeared like that, although I did find a small trail of feathers a ways off from the coop. After investigation, pretty sure it was a bobcat.
Thank you ALL for your input! I'm going to plug in the fence now, thanks to your reassurances. And I'll probably find out pretty soon how many times the neighbor's dog will test it. He's a pretty smart dog, so maybe once will be enough!
My hens will be very glad to have some more freedom. I've...